Let Me Fall
by WildfireLily
Summary: Lily Evans has a problem. His name is James Potter. When Alice hatches a plan, bets are made. Lily is stubborn enough to win, even if she's not sure she wants to anymore.T just in case, as I'm not sure where this is going yet. Please R&R!
1. The Head Boy

**Lily Evans has a problem. His name is James Potter. When Alice hatches a plan, a few bets are made. Lily is stubborn enough to win, even if she's not sure she wants to anymore.**

**Everything you recognize belongs to the Goddess/Queen Rowling, not me. If I were her, I wouldn't be avoiding my Pre-Calc. Also, there would be a book about James and Lily.**

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><p>Chapter 1; in which a Lily is angered and a plan is hatched.<p>

Lily Evans stood in the Prefects' compartment at the Hogwarts Express as Head Girl. She was busy explaining the Prefects' duties when he walked in. From the corner of her eye, he was easily recognizable. Tall, athletic build, messy black hair and glasses.

She stopped mid-sentence to meet his hazel eyes. She was about to ask why he was standing there when she saw the shiny Head Boy badge on his robes.

"No," she said flatly. This was not happening.

"Believe me, Evans, I'm as surprised as you. Thought it'd be Remus."

Lily closed her eyes for a moment, her lips forming a tight line, her jaw tensing. Then she sighed, pushing her feelings away.

She looked back at the others in the compartment. "So, as I was saying before our Head Boy showed up, we'll patrol the corridors every night. Gryffindors on Mondays, Ravenclaws on Wednesdays, Slytherins on Fridays, and Hufflepuffs on Saturdays. Potter and I will take Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. You can figure the time shifts within your own house. Any questions?"

They all shook their heads.

She turned to James. "Anything to add?"

He shook his head.

"Aright, we'll have a meeting in a week or so."

And she left.

"Evans! Hey, Evans, wait up!"

She hadn't gotten very far away before she heard him. She spun on him, her dark red hair flying around her face. Her eyes were narrowed. "What do you want?" It came out a little sharper than she'd meant, but she wasn't taking it back.

James seemed to forget what he was going to say for a minute.

"Today, Potter," she sighed. "I'd like to go find Alice."

"Sorry. Look, you're obviously mad about me being Head Boy, but let me say, I didn't exactly ask for it."

She knew he didn't, which just aggravated her more.

"So I really think we should make the best of it. I know we haven't gotten along very well in the past—" That was an understatement, and it was because of her, but he wasn't going to say that "—but I feel like the Head Boy and Girl should make the effort to work together without trying to tear each others' faces off."

What he was saying was making sense, and against her will, she could feel her anger melting away.

"What I'm trying to say, Lils, is will you go out with me, now that I'm Head Boy?" He was laughing a little, grinning his Potter grin, and that was why Lily didn't see the hopefulness.

She was so fast that he never even saw her wand clearly. Lily Evans performed what was probably the best Jelly-Leg Jinx of her life that day.

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><p>Lily threw a pillow at the wall. Alice looked on, almost amused. Lily's temper was the color of her hair, so volatile and passionate it was sometimes scary. It often got the best of her. This, coupled with her thick stubborn streaks, made her an impossible person; you never knew what would set her off, or when she'd come back around.<p>

There was, of course, one person that could always set her off. James Potter. Whom she was now ranting about, for what was probably the twenty-millionth time. For nearly six years, Alice had heard, in detail, every offense James Potter had made, every prank, every time he asked her out. Every time he'd scored higher than she had on a test.

The sad thing is, the only person who didn't see how absolutely crazy she was for that boy was Lily.

"Head Boy! Do you believe this? Dumbledore must've been drunk! That is the only explanation. This is going to ruin my year! And then he has the nerve to ask me out!"

Alice cut her off. "Lils," she said, "Why don't you say yes one of these times he asks you out?"

"Alice!" she exclaimed. She ticked of her list of her fingers. "Arrogant toe rag, can't stand him, and—"

"You're lying," her friend told her. "You like him."

For a moment, Lily was speechless. That was new. "So what if I was, Allie? I don't like him, but say I did," she asked then. "There'd still be nothing to do about it. It's all just a game, and it's one I won't let him win."

Alice thought for a moment, tipping her head sideways like a dog. Then she smiled, a plan forming. "Then next time, say yes. Wait," she cut off Lily's protest. "If it's all a game, he'll lose interest after, right? He goes through girls after about a week, so that's all it will take."

Lily raised her eyebrow. It was an idea. An idea that made her a little nervous, that was true. Would that be letting him win, if you're a step ahead of him? No, she decided, not really.

Alice smiled. One thing about Lily is that her emotions and thoughts crossed her face. Sometime so quickly that it was hard to notice, but she had no poker face. Alice knew her friend just might do this.

"I'll be back in a little bit," Alice told her friend. When she walked into the common room, she scanned the fire-lit area. She walked up to Remus Lupin.

"Where's Potter?"

He looked up at her from his Charms book with mild surprise. "I think he went with Sirius to the kitchens."

Alice nodded. "Come on," she said, turning. She went through the portrait hole without waiting to see if he'd follow. Which, of course, he did. If Alice was looking for James, something interesting was about to happen.

The two found the boys as they left the kitchens, loaded with food enough to last a week. It'd be gone by the next day.

"Potter. Black," she said by way on hello.

"Alice, love, to what do we owe the pleasure?" Sirius asked with an arrogant grin.

She sent him a haughty look before turning to James. "You need to go ask Lily out, and soon, before she finds her reason again."

"What?" James asked blankly. Then he was suspicious. "Why would I want to do that?"

"Because she'll say yes."

James dropped his food. Remus and Sirius looked just as shocked.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Really. Just listen. She _thinks_ she sick of you asking her out. So she's going to say yes, just so that you'll stop. You need to figure out how to keep her going on dates until she figures out she's already fallen for you, because let's be honest, she's the only one who doesn't know it." Her gaze got incredibly intense as voice became more measured. "This will be very hard for you to screw up, Potter, you're not that much of an idiot. That said, it still scares me to have to rely on you."

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><p><strong>Right, so this is a start. I'm not sure if I like it, so it may be reposted later. Please R&amp;R!<strong>


	2. Bets Are On

**Thanks for the amazing reviews! Everything you recognize belongs to JKR!**

Chapter 2; In which bets are made.

"Alice," Ella said as she walked into her dorm room later that night with Mary and Marlene, "What's got Lily acting so weird?"

She looked up from her book. "She's gonna say yes next time Potter asks her out," Alice told them, and explained the plan. "Any bets on how long it takes for her to fall?" she asked her friends.

"Alice!" Ella exclaimed, "Betting on your friend?" She giggled. "Two days after he asks her out next."

"She's too stubborn." Marlene said. "About a month after it's over."

"I agree," Mary put in. "She'll lie to herself for the next month, but it will be another month before she does anything about it."

"I say at the end of the week." Alice said. "Or, obviously, when he kisses her. There is a serious chance all bets will be off at that point."

The four agreed, and wrote down their bets.

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><p>The week began to inch by. At one point Lily had to come to terms with the idea that he may not ask her out again. That maybe this time, she'd gotten it through his thick head. She'd been a little snappy at him during their patrols. Not that she'd meant to be, but she didn't like that she was a little upset when he hadn't asked her yet.<p>

She didn't know he was just trying to figure out how to keep her for more than one date.

James did come up with a plan eventually. It was so simple; he couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it sooner. Still, it was foolproof.

That night, on patrol, Lily was acting the same as she had on the patrols they'd had the week before: impatient and slightly annoyed.

James didn't think he'd ever understand the moods of Lily Evans.

They were almost back to the common room. "Hold on, Lily," he said. "I'm sorry for being such a jerk on the train."

She turned to him, her eyebrows raised expectantly.

"Alright, fine. I'm sorry for being a jerk in general."

She smiled at him, a small, satisfied 'I won' smile.

"What I'm saying is, will you please give me a chance?"

She pretended to think about it for a moment. "Alright, fine. I'll go on a date with you."

"Great!"

He grabbed her hand and pulled her along.

"Potter," she almost yelled, "where are we going?"

James laughed. "On a date, Lils."

He didn't slow until they got to the Astronomy tower. As he led her outside at the top, Lily giggled. He'd set out a blanket and picnic basket.

"You were that sure I'd say yes?" she asked.

"Well, let's just say I had a good feeling."

They sat, and James opened the basket of food that was mostly sweets. They ate and talked and James kept her laughing. They looked up at the stars, with Lily pointing out constellations James couldn't remember from class.

"This was a nice date, Potter," Lily said after a while.

"Oh? Think I could get you to fall for me?"

She rolled her eyes. "No."

"Bet I could," he said.

"No."

He sat up, looking at her. "Ok, Lily Evans, I bet you that if you date me for one week, you will fall."

She looked him for a moment. "What do I get when I win?"

He smiled. "_If_ you win, I will never ask you out again, or bother you in any way. Ever."

She gave a small, satisfied smile. "And what would you get?" she asked.

"You," he said simply.

She blinked, taken aback. Those little things he said every once and a while always caught her off guard. "Fine."

"But, while we're dating, you have to call me James, and I'll call you Lily."

"Fine, and next Friday night, we're done."

"Fine."

Lily stood. Without looking back, she left.

James waited only a moment before following her back to Gryffindor Tower, smiling.

Smiling, because he'd finally won a round.

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><p><strong>OK, this one was short, but the next chapter is almost finished and will be up by this weekend!<strong>


	3. Flying

Everything belongs to JKR

Chapter 3; In which they go flying

As Lily walked out of the castle, the light of the day was dusk but not quite dark. She heard a _whoop_ above her and looked up. It was too dim to see the figure above her clearly. She kept walking. With a sudden woosh, one James Potter landed next to her.

"Hey, Evans, where you off to?" he asked.

She looked at him. He was smiling his arrogant, Potter smile. "The Owlry," she said.

"Oh? Sending a letter?"

Lily nodded. "I haven't sent anything to my family yet." He walked with her for a while in silence. But the silence was nice. Lily thought about what all had changed in the past year or so to make walking next to Potter without yelling at him "nice." He still annoyed her, and she still hated him, but she thought maybe there were other feelings as well. She was not about to put a name to them. She wasn't even sure how you could hate someone and . . . not hate someone. "You know, Potter," she mused, "I think if we don't speak, we could go a very long time without fighting."

He laughed. "Yeah," he replied, "we probably could. But where's the fun in that?"

"That's true," she laughed too.

And then they ended up talking, and there was no fighting. Lily found this absolutely confusing, but went along with it. It was a long walk up the stairs to where hundreds of owls perched, waiting.

"Alright," she said, "who wants to fly a few hours. It's almost night time."

A handsome barn owl flew to her outstretched arm. She smiled brightly at the creature. Fleetingly, James wondered what it would take for her to smile at him like she was smiling at the stupid animal. He shook himself as she tied the letter she'd pulled out of her pocket to the owl. She walked it to the window and it flew away. She stood there, watching it until she couldn't see in in the falling darkness any longer.

"Wish I could fly," she said softly. "Just spread my wings and go. Go anywhere. Nothing would matter. All the problems our world has. But that's the thing, you know. I can't just leave. I don't know if I can change anything, but I can try." She turned and looked at him a little sheepishly. "Sorry. I don't know what's gotten into me lately."

"That's alright," James told her, "Most people seem to be on the same train of thought. I don't know if one person can change the world, Lils, but maybe all of us together can."

"And I think we should leave it with all these dark, deep thoughts, and go back to the castle." She smiled, leading him to the stairs.

He caught up to walk next to her, which was lucky for her. She saw movement on the stair she was below her. Squeeling, she hopped to avoid it, leaving her unbalanced. She would have gone crashing down if strong arms hadn't grabbed her waist. Not so luckily, he couldn't keep them upright. She felt herself falling, but pressed to James' body, she also felt secure. Then she felt him twisting. He hit the steps first, on his back. She heard the breath whoosh out of him. A second later, she landed on top of him. Or mostly on top of him. Her knee bashed into the hard stone, causing her to gasp in pain.

"Are you alright?" he asked instantly.

Her face was close to his. Really close. Her green eyes met his hazel ones, and his gaze was a little stunned. "Are you alright? You got the worst of the fall. Did you hit your head?" Not really wanting to, she struggled to sit up next to him. He kept his arm around her waist, though, and she couldn't convince herself to shake him off.

"Just a few bruises and, you know, breathing. I'll be fine. What happened?"

She looked sheepish. "I think I saw a rat."

An odd look crossed his face. "Really?" he asked. "That's weird; you think a rat would be_ smart enough _to know there are _owls up here_!"

Now she gave him an odd look. "You didn't hit your head?" She asked again. Her voice was serious and concerned, a sound he was sure he'd never heard her use towards him.

"No," he responded. He sat up slowly, taking deep breaths. "Are you sure you're okay? What did you hit?"

"Just my knee," she waved him off, standing. Again, she gasped, sitting back down. "Maybe I'll just sit here for a while."

James, still struggling a little to catch his breath, moved to kneel in front of her. Gently holding her ankle, he straightened Lily's leg. She bit her lip. He felt her knee, not pressing harder than he had to. It still hurt quite a bit.

"I don't think it's broken or anything, but we should probably get you to the nurse anyway." He stood and gave her a hand up.

"Really, James, I'm fine," she said, but she accepted his help.

"Are you sure," he asked, "Because you just called me James instead of Potter."

She gave him a wan smile. "Just making sure you didn't hit your head."

"Sure." He looked around, spotting his broom, which at some point he'd dropped, a few steps down. He retrieved it, and then went back to Lily's aid. With an arm around her waist again, and her arm on his shoulder, he helped her limp down the stairs. When they got to the bottom, he smiled at her. "How bad do you want to fly?" he asked, holding his broom out.

She eyed the broom. She hadn't flown since their lessons first year. She hadn't been bad, but she wasn't steady in the air, not like Potter and the rest of the Quidditch team. She wasn't even sure she liked flying. Heights scared her a little. Not that she'd ever admit that to Potter.

But he saw uneasiness in her eyes. "I won't let you fall, Lils," he said softly.

"Fine," she sighed.

He smiled again, straddling his broom then pulling her on behind him. She put her arms around his waist and just had enough time to take a calming breath before they shot up into the air. They soared through the sky. Higher than she'd ever been before, she found it was a beautiful place to be.

"Well," she said, "this isn't so bad."

She heard him chuckle. "Alright, we'll see," he told her.

"See?" she cried, "See about what?"

He pulled into a dive. She squealed, a high, girly sound she wasn't proud of making, and her arms automatically tightened around James. She felt his heartbeat speed up. He pulled out of the dive to loop upside down. She was squeezing Potter's ribs so hard she wasn't sure he could breathe. She didn't care. Lily buried her face into his shirt. She was aware that he smelled good. Why was it boys had to smell so good?

"Potter," she all but yelled, "if we die, I'm going to KILL YOU."

He was laughing; she could feel the exhilaration coursing through him. "I won't let you fall, Lils!"

And he didn't. As unbalanced and uneasy as she was, she was never really in danger of falling. James was something solid and comforting for her to hold onto.

She was almost sad when finally he landed. Her knee didn't hurt as much now, so she knew it was just a bruise, but James insisted on helping her all the way to Gryffindor Tower. He walked her right up to the bottom of the stairs to the girls' dorm, where she assured him again that she was fine.

He looked at her for a moment before pressing his lips to her forehead and heading to his own dorms.

Lily stood there, thinking. This was not good. She was in real danger of falling for James Potter, whatever he said.

Aha well, I couldn't wait to put this up. So here you go. I'm not sure what's going to happen next, but please R&R!


	4. The Wooing of Lily Evans

**Sorry I haven't posted in so long, I've been a bit distracted. Oddly enough, said distraction has given me inspiration for this chapter.**

**Anyhoo…**

**Mostly to keep myself straight: James and Lily made the bet on a Friday night. Chapter 3 was Saturday. The bet is over the following Friday night. Right. (I just need to make sure I don't have too many days in there).**

**It all belongs to JKR**

Chapter 4; The all-important map is made, and James tries to capture Lily

**Sunday**

James found her in the library, not that he was surprised.

"Lils," he said from behind her.

She jumped, startled. If he'd walked around the table, he'd have been able to see that her eyes had been glazed over, and her eyes had not been moving across the page.

"Sorry," he chuckled. "Why are you in the library?"

She gave him a quick glance that was really more of a glare. "It's too loud in the common room."

"But it's Sunday morning. Do your homework on Sunday night, like normal people."

She sighed. "I'll still be doing work tonight," she told him. "I have three papers due tomorrow."

"Alright, mind if I sit with you?"

She looked up at him, taken by surprise. He was pulling a potions book out of his bag.

"You're studying? On a Sunday morning? Do you _ever_ study?"

He smiled, taking that as and okay to slide into the chair next to her. "Quite often, actually. Just never when anyone is around."

For the next half hour, James went between reading his potions textbook and watching Lily. Her eyebrows pulled together often as she read and took notes. He watched her green eyes move across the page, then go back and read parts again. Stray bits of hair would fall in front of her face and she'd push them away impatiently.

She sat back in her chair for a moment, rubbing her face. She pulled the light, silky-looking scarf from around her neck, pooling it on the table next to her.

As if that would help her finish the stupid paper.

James picked up the scarf. It was black with silver stars. He wrapped it around his neck; it smelled like her. He turned to Lily, resting his chin in his hand.

She looked up at her boyfriend, who had a pleasantly blank look on his face. "What on earth are you up to?"

He smiled at her. That Potter smile. "I very much like your choice in perfume."

She rolled her eyes, but he caught her smile as she turned back to the textbook.

Hours later, the two wandered into the common room. Somehow, on the walk back form the library, his hand had found hers. Knowing she should act like a proper girlfriend, she didn't fight it.

It wasn't until they sat by the other marauders and they laughed that Lily realized James was still wearing her scarf.

"Um, can I have that back?" She asked, pointing.

He looked down and laughed as well, taking it off.

It was a few minutes later when she headed up to her dorm. She caught a scent she was sure she knew. It took her a moment to realize it was from her scarf. Potter.

Damn boys and their damn smell.

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><p><strong>Monday<strong>

Charms was by far Lily's best class. It was the one class she never took notes in. She sat there listening to the professor.

A piece of paper was dropped onto her desk. She glanced over at James in annoyance before unfolding it.

_Hey_. Was all it said.

_**What do you want?**_

She handed it back to James when she was sure the professor wasn't looking.

_Just to talk._

_**You're that bored? Won't any of your friends talk to you?**_

_No. Remus wants to pay attention. Peter is sleeping. And Sirius doesn't want to talk to me right now._

_**Why is that?**_

_Because I mostly just talk about you._

_**You are such a sap.**_

_Yep. Can't help it, I finally got my wish._

_**Your wish?**_

_Yeah, you._

_**I'm not yours, Potter, don't make any mistakes on that account.**_

_You keep telling yourself that, Evans. _

_**I thought you were going to call me Lily.**_

_And you were going to call me James._

_**Shut up.**_

_I'm not talking, I'm writing._

_**Smartass.**_

_You like it._

_**I'm done with this conversation.**_

_No, you're not._

_Lily. Please talk to me?_

_**About what?**_

_I don't know._

_**Then can I please listen to this lesson?**_

_Fine._

A few minutes passed before he handed her another piece of paper. Sighing, she unfolded it.

_(A poem for Lily)_

_You give to me hope  
>And help me to cope<br>When life pulls me down  
>You bring me around<em>

_You teach me to care_  
><em>And help me to share<em>  
><em>You make me honest<em>  
><em>With kindness the best<em>

_I love you because you are so funny, thoughtful and caring_  
><em>I love you because you are so beautiful, lovely and sharing<em>

She re-folded the paper, a little touched. He'd been telling her he was in love with her for years, and she'd never believed him, and she didn't now. But this was sweeter and a little different somehow. Without looking at James, she slipped it in her book for safe-keeping.

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><p><strong>Wednesday<strong>

"What are you boys up to?" Lily asked, walking over to where the Marauders huddled around a corner table, deep in concentration and a whispered conversation. It was late, and everybody had gone to bed. Lily and Ella had been studying, and Lily was about to follow her friend up to their dorm. All four of the boys jumped, and Remus scattered to cover whatever was on their papers with charms and transfig books.

"Nothing's up, Lils, just studying," Sirius Black said easily.

"Liar. You four are up to something, and it had better not be as bad as that prank you pulled the other day, Snape was furious, you're lucky you all weren't expelled—"

"Don't worry, Evans," James broke in. "This won't hurt anyone. If we could get it right, it'd help us plenty. . ."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Well, let me see," she said, leaning over the table and pushing the books aside. She ignored the boys' protests. "Really, I can help." Then she saw it. "Whoa. This is, well, amazing. How did you do it?"

It was a map. Intricately detailed drawings showed the whole grounds of Hogwarts on a complexly folded parchment. Occasionally, a dot would appear, then fade.

"Took forever," Peter said, "but it wasn't all that hard."

"But, see, we're trying to make it show the people in the castle," Remus told her. "So we put a Seeing Spell on it, but it's not reacting fast enough to people who are moving."

"Huh," Lily thought for a moment. "Well, what if you combined the Seeing Spell with a Tracking Charm? Here." She took out her wand and held it above the parchment. Murmuring her spells, and suddenly the people appeared as dots, with names next to them. She smiled triumphantly.

"Ha! Lils you're a genius!" Sirius jumped up yelling and hooting. He grabbed her shoulders and ducked down, smacking his lips on her cheek.

"Ah!" she pushed him away, looking slightly revolted. "I cannot believe you just did that, Black." She wiped at her cheek and made a face.

Remus, Peter and even James were holding their stomachs laughing as Sirius looked hurt.

"Come on, Love, I've never kissed a girl who hasn't said she didn't want more!" he protested.

"Well, you've met one now," she told him. Then she turned to the rest of them. "You are welcome. Now, if you are caught with that thing, you won't be saying anything about me helping you. I'm Head Girl, so I refuse to play part in your pranks and breaking of rules. I've never seen that map before." She started to walk away, and then turned back. "You had all better go to bed. It's a full moon tomorrow, isn't it?"

"No, it's Friday." James said absently. "Wait! What?" He looked around at his friends, who all looked just as shocked. The boys were fairly certain even Frank, who shared their dorm, hadn't figured it out.

"How long have you known?" asked Remus quietly.

Lily smiled, almost amused. She put a hand on her hip. "About your 'furry little problem?' Well, Sev came up with the theory third or fourth year—"

"Snape!" all the boys exclaimed. If Snape knew, their secret was not even close to safe. All bets were off.

"Yeah, but I told him it was crazy," she waved away their concerns. "Of course, at the time, I thought it was. Then I looked at the facts. He was right." She looked at Remus. "You sneak out every full moon. That shack outside of Hogsmead is suddenly haunted."

He she guessed everything?

"But that didn't explain how your three friends could spend that night out with you," she went on, turning her eyes on the rest of them. "Then I realized you're all so good at Transfiguration."

Yep, she'd figured it all out.

"Now, it's a bit of a stretch to think we have three unregistered Animagi and a werewolf running around a school, but—"

"Shhhhhhh," Sirius interrupted her.

Lily looked around. The common room was deserted. She shrugged.

"Look, Lily," James said, "you won't tell anybody, right?"

She glared at him, suddenly offended. "You really think I would betray that kind of secret?" She sounded incredulous. "I wouldn't do that!"

"Alright, alright, Lils, he's sorry," Sirius told her.

"Don't call me that," she snapped.

"We're both sorry," James said slowly. "Why don't you sit down?" He gestured to a chair. "Maybe you can help up more with this map. Please?"

After considering for a moment, she sat. The boys wanted to be able to make the map disappear from the paper. "Well, you need an ink-disappearing charm," Lily said, "But what to mix it with?"

"What was that charm Flitwick taught us a few days ago, _occulto__ latent_? To give it a password."

"Oh!" Lily exclaimed. "Yeah, that could work. Good thinking." The charm was more complex then he seemed to think it to be, but it came to the same thing. "Alright, after I say that spells, one of you has to say whatever it is you want to reveal the map. Then I'll cast it again, and say whatever you want to hid it. Got it?"

The boys nodded.

"_Aparecium_," she said clearly, pointing her wand again at the parchment. The drawings disappeared. "_O__cculto __latent__."_

Sirius also pointed his wand at the map. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," he said. Everything reappeared, as if drawing back on.

"Really? That's the best you could come up with?" Lily asked.

"Yes," he replied.

Lily sighed. "_Occulto latent_," she said again.

This time James pointed his wand at the parchment. "Mischief managed." The parchment once again became blank.

"Brilliant," Sirius said. "I think I'll try it out. I'm hungry."

Remus chuckled. "When aren't you hungry?"

Sirius didn't answer. "James," he said. "Cloak. Upstairs?"

James nodded, Remus shook his head. Sirius bounded upstairs to come down a moment later with a silvery-looking cloak. He and Peter took the map in search of food.

Lily, James and Remus looked at each other. "One of us should stop them," she said. "Being Heads and Prefects." Then she shrugged. "But I think Ravenclaws are doing patrols tonight, so it's not my job.

"I think I'll go to bed now," Remus said, leaving James and Lily alone.

"I think he was more afraid that you wouldn't trust him than that you'd tell anyone," James said quietly.

Lily nodded. "I can understand why. Being treated differently because of something beyond your control." Being muggleborn wasn't the same, she knew, but she understood the feeling.

"He's a good person," James said. "Something like this shouldn't happen to people like him."

"I agree," Lily said.

"Whoa, Lils, we just agreed on something!"

She laughed. "The universe might come crashing down around us!"

"Every day when I'm around you my universe crashes down around me."

She blinked her large green eyes, looking at him. She seemed almost confused. "Why do you do that?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Do what, Lils?"

"Why do you say things like that?"

He sighed. "I'm just saying how I feel."

He got up and headed to his dorm, leaving her sitting there still looking confused. Could it be that James Potter has more feelings for her than simply wanting to win her, and this bet?

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><p><strong>Whoo, got that done, can't believe how long it took me! Reviews are more than welcome!<strong>


	5. The Kiss and its Repercussions

**Thanks for all the reviews, I love how much you all seem to love this!**

**krc101- Here you go! Tell me what you think!**

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><p>Chapter 5; The Kiss (oooOOOooo) and its repercussions.<p>

Thursday night, as the Head Boy and Girl patrolled the corridors, Lily was already in a bad mood. She'd managed to convince herself that Potter was only playing a game. He had no feelings for her, really. Somehow, this had made her irritable and frustrated.

James was in a "mess-with-Lily" mood, which always made her mood worse.

"Really, Evans," he was saying now, "You should let off some off that steam, it's unhealthy to bottle it up." He was smiling his Potter smile.

She hated that. "Potter," she said, "You don't want me to let off steam right now."

"Why do you hate me so much?" he asked suddenly. When Lily saw at the thoughtful look on his face, she realized he was being sincere.

She sighed. "If you haven't gotten it by now, I don't expect you too," she said softly. "But really, what did you ever expect from me? I can see that this is all a game to you. You've always gotten everything you've ever wanted. I may be the only girl who's never fallen at your feet, so win me, and you can win anyone, right? No. You will not win. I will not fall."

She spun away from him, but before she could leave, he caught her arm.

"Let me go," she said in an icy voice.

"No."

He pulled her back around to face him, pulled her right into him. He was so close, his hazel eyes so intense. He put a hand under her chin, lifting her face up. Their lips were only inches apart.

Lily couldn't breathe. Her heart was working in overdrive and somehow it stopped her lungs from functioning properly.

He kissed her, gently, tentatively. When she didn't push away, he gave her a real kiss, long and lingering. The smallest of whimpers escaped the back of her throat. He let go of her wrist, his hands moving to her waist to pull her closer.

In that moment, she was not responsible for her reactions. Reaching her arms around his neck, she pulled herself closer to him, kissing him back with enthusiasm. At one point, she was almost aware of the stone wall against her back. This, however, was difficult to comprehend with the muscled body against her front. Because kissing him, there were no fireworks, no electricity. There was only him. The rest of the world didn't exist.

Then, just as suddenly as it all started, it ended. He pulled back, bringing the rest of the world into her senses again.

"This, Lily, is not just a game. Not to me."

He turned and walked away, leaving her, eyes wide in shock, mouth in a confused little "o," with her back against the wall, trying to remember how to breathe.

"Alice," Lily whispered as she walked back into her dorm. "Alice, wake up, please!"

"Whah…" Alice murmured. "Lily, what time is it?"

"About two a.m. Can you talk with me?"

Alice groaned. "What happened?" She sat up, rubbing her eyes. When she caught sight of the look on Lily's face, she gasped. "Damnit!"

"What?"

"I was so close! I was sure I'd win! Damn, Lily can't you wait until tomorrow night to fall for James?"

Lily's eyes widened in shock as her friend's words sunk in. "You were betting!" she hissed. "I can't believe you!"

"No, Lils," Alice said pleadingly. "It was all in fun!"

"You knew!" Her voice was rising, waking the others. "You knew this would happen, you planned it all along. Alice, you're my friend, you're supposed to be on my side!" She spun around, sprinting downstairs.

Alice jumped out of bed, running after the redhead, her friends close behind. They got to the common room just in time to see the portrait hole closing. The voice of the Fat Lady was muffled. "Hey!" she was yelling at Lily, "Where are you going? It's far too late for this!"

Alice made to follow her. Ella grabbed her shoulder. "Alice, don't," she said. "You can't get caught out so late. Lily won't get in so much trouble, she's Head Girl. She'll come back."

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><p>But she didn't. Alice didn't expect to see her when she woke up a few hours later. If she thought she'd see Lily at breakfast, she was disappointed. As James sat down in Double Potions that morning to find the seat next to him, where Lily usually sat, was empty, she shot a questioning look at Alice. He was startled to see the worry on all the Gryffindor girls' faces. Slughorn walked in at that moment, though, so he couldn't ask.<p>

He caught up with the girls as they all left. They were whispering anxiously to each other.

"Is Lily ok?" he asked. "Is she sick?"

Ella looked up at him. "We don't know," she said. "We haven't seen her since she came back from patrol last night."

"What happened?"

Marlene sighed. "She found out we put bets on the two of you."

James closed his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose under his glasses. "Alright. Ok. I'm sure she's fine." By the sound of his voice, everybody knew he was trying to convince himself of that just as much as them. "If she's not back after class this afternoon, we'll look for her."

She wasn't. James had by then filled the marauders in, and as eight out of nine Gryffindor seventh years gathered in the common room after class, the rest of the house began to figure it out as well.

"Alright," Remus said. "We'll split up and cover as much of this place as we can. If we don't find her by dinner, we'll have to tell McGonagall."

The rest of them nodded.

"James," Sirius said quietly as the others left, "The map."

James nodded at his friend. "You're right, come on!"

They ran back up to their dorm. James pulled the map out from under his bed. Pointing his wand at it he muttered, "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good."

He was scanning the castle for her name when it caught his eye. Movement in the Forbidden Forest.

"Shit!" he said. "Shit Sirius, she's in the forest!"

"She'll be fine, mate, no worries," he told he friend confidently.

He shook his head. "No, look who else is there."

Sirius looked at the map. His eyes widened. "Shit. Well, let's go! Grab the brooms!"

They ran, grabbing their brooms—presents from the Mr. and Mrs. Potter—as they left.

The light was starting to fade as they ran onto the grounds. Swinging onto their brooms, they kicked off, flying high.

All James knew was that they had to find her. Before anyone else did.

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><p><strong>oooOOOooo, who do you think will be in the forest? <strong>

**Well. This was an odd chapter to write because when I started it, I had no idea where it would end. And I don't know what's going to happen next. So. Yeah. Hope you still like it.**

**P.S. Yes, Lily is in denial. I agree with all the comments, we're all just waiting for that perfect moment when she gets with the boy. But she's just so stubborn.**


	6. The Finding of Lily Evans

**Everybody, I'm so sorry I haven't posted in months. This writers' block has been sitting in front of me like a huge brick wall. I chipped away at it for the longest time, but I can't seem to get out one sticky bit. So I just put an outline in it and all I can say is I'm sorry, and this is the best I can do with it:**

**(All belongs to JKR)**

Chapter 6: The finding and rescue of One Lily Evans.

The sounds of the forbidden forest were what kept Lily from passing out. Faint as she was from thirst and hunger, every snap and hoot and growl made her jump. A Gryffindor she may be, but she was alone and weak and she was not stupid.

Lily had always seen herself as a sensible girl. Overreacting was not something she was prone to do. But she'd just been coming to terms with her feelings for James Freaking Potter, she was not ready to learn that her friends had not only planned it, but had placed bets on it too. She'd run without noticing where she was until suddenly she found herself, breathing heavily and tears streaming down her face, in the forest. Everything around her had the same unfamiliarity, and the trees grew close together, reaching high up and blocking out the moonlight. She'd had to make the decision: What was better, being a sitting duck for unknown beasties of the forest, or trying to find a way out and possibly finding the beasties herself?

So, after many hours of wandering through the woods, she was. . . Just as lost as before. She had not sense of direction or time. The sunlight had only trickled through the leaves when it was directly over the trees, which was a while ago. After that, she forgot to worry about time, distracted by dehydration and hunger. To make it worse, the sounds of the forest were getting louder, as if something was close by.

Giving up, she sank to her knees, focusing on the sounds around her to keep herself grounded. She imagined some were going closer. . . Maybe they were. . . Actually, she was sure something was. She turned to see movement between the trees. Slowly, the shapes morphed into humans. As the first one came close enough to see clearly, she stifled a gasp.

"Well, what do we have here?" asked Lucius Malfoy. He'd been a Slytherin prefect when Lily first came to Hogwarts.

"A mudblood!" cried a female voice.

"Hello, Bellatrix," Lily said sweetly, and much more calmly than she felt, as the woman came closer. "I hear congratulations are in order. Where is your new husband?"

"Oh, he's guarding our entry," replied Bellatrix.

"Which is where, exactly?" Lily prodded.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Malfoy hissed. "This forest has many secrets. The question is, what's a little mudblood like you doing in the forest all alone?"

Lily smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Ooh, let's kill her," cooed Bellatrix, raising her wand.

"Wait, Bella, she may be useful alive," Sev said.

All eyes turned to him. "How?" prompted Lucius.

He looked up at the blond man. "There are several . . . powerful" –he said word like it was hard to admit- "wizards at the school who are quite attached to her. If we play our cards right, we'd get them too."

"Who," asked Bellatrix.

"Your cousin, for one, Bella," he told her.

She made a sound that seemed like a disgusted growl.

"And Potter."

Complete and utter dread filled Lily, leaving icy shivers down her spine. She felt her heartbeat speed up and her breathing shorten. James. They were going to use her to get to James, and Sirius.

Lucius looked thoughtful. "Alright," he said at last, "She'll be useful."

Bellatrix smiled evilly. "Bait."

James hadn't thought enough to take the map with him, so he and Sirius soared above the tree for a while before he spotted movement below him, a flash of read. He looked down to see that she wasn't alone. His blood ran cold. He dove into the trees. With a surprised yell, Sirius followed him.

The trees in that part of the forest were huge, providing plenty of cover for the two Marauders as they watched the scene unfold.

Lily sat on the ground. Lucius Malfoy looked sown at her with an expression of cool distain. Other Death Eaters stood behind him., so familiar, some not. One that was? Snape.

"Padfoot," James hissed, "When all this is over, remind me to kill old Snivillus, if I haven't yet."

"Only if you let me help," Sirius replied through gritted teeth.

Snape had just said something, making the others look thoughtful. Lily- who already didn't look so good, paler than usual, her eyes half-closed, James worried that she might pass out—was clearly frightened by whatever he said. Her eyes went wide with shock, what little color she had left drained form her face.

He heard Lucius say, "Alright, she'll be useful."

Bellatrix Lestrange smiled, looking as insane as ever. James heard her voice float over the area. "Bait."

The look on Lily's face can only be described as hopelessly lost as Bellatrix conjured ropes with her want and made them tie themselves around her wrists and ankles. One big Death Eater stepped forward at Malfoy's orders and picked Lily up, moving her to lean against a tree not too far from James and Sirius.

Perfect.

James turned to his friend. "Go back to the castle," he told Sirius quietly, "Get Dumbledore. I'm going to try and get closer to Lily."

"Prongs," Sirius looked at his friend, "Be careful. Don't do anything rash." Sirius knew the "careful" was not in James' vocabulary, and "rash" was synonymous with "fun" on most days.

But James just nodded. "Don't worry, mate. Just go get help."

Sirius looked at him for another moment before jumping on his broom and flying off.

James snuck forward, making sure nobody was looking as he dove for each tree. He cursed himself for not grabbing his cloak. Finally, he found himself behind a tree with Lily sitting just on the other side. "Evans," he whispered.

She jumped a little. "James?"

"Who else?" he asked. "No worries, love, I'll have you out of this."

"Can you cut these ropes?" She shifted to the side to give him an easier view of her wrists behind her back. He pulled out his wand, leaning closer, preying he wasn't seen. "_Diffindo_," he murmured. Lily hissed as he nicked her palm, but the ropes fell away.

"Sorry, Lils," he whispered.

"Hide," was all she said.

He looked up. Snape was slowly heading towards them, watching the others, presumably trying not to be noticed as they were all in deep conversation.

James ducked back behind the tree.

"What do you want, Sev?" he voice was stronger than she looked at the moment.

James listened intently, wanting to know what Snape could possibly have to say. But he didn't say anything.

"If you're quite done, I'll ask you to walk away from me."

After a moment, Snape said, "I have to go back to the school. Someone will notice I'm missing. Good luck."

James chanced a glance around the tree. Snape was walking towards the others. He put a hand on Malfoy's shoulder, saying something to him. Malfoy nodded, and Snape left, fading into the darkness in the direction James assumed was the school.

"What in the name of Merlin was that?'" he whispered.

"He dropped my wand," she breathed back.

She leaned forward, grabbing it and quickly using it to cut the bonds on her ankles. She stood, but was surprised at how weak she felt, and had to push herself up against the tree.

"Come on, Lils, let's get out of here," James whispered. As much as he wanted to curse those Death Eaters to death, he had to get Lily out first.

But, of course, things weren't going to work that way. Just as Lily began to move again, around the tree, Bellatrix spotted her.

"No, Mudblood," she screeched, and raised her wand, sending a curse at Lily.

Lily screamed as _crucio_ hit her. She collapsed back to the ground she'd worked so hard to get up from. The pain had erupted from every nerve in her being, though she knew she was not really hurt. It was in her mind.

That didn't stop her from feeling it.

James reacted before he thought, and jumping out from behind the tree, prepared to stun Bellatrix, but Malfoy was faster. He cast a shield in front of his fellow Death Eater as light shot from James' wand. His spell bounced harmlessly off the invisible barrier.

Lily screamed again.

**Here there is some more wonderful fighting/dueling scene that shows the bravery of James and the incredible strength of Lily. After it though, she's near collapsing. He walks her over to his broom, and as he helps her on in she murmurs, "Don't let me fall." And he replies, "Never." (Awwwwwwwww) As they get back to the castle, Sirius is leading Dumbledore and others out. Lily is immediately brought to the hospital wing.**

**So the next part I wrote a long time ago, about the time I was working on chapter three or four…. It just came a lot easier, I guess**

Madam Pomfry made Lily sit in the hospital wing for hours just sipping water. James sat with her the whole time.

"Lils," he said when they were alone, "don't ever run off again, ok?"

"No promises," she told him with a small smile. "But next time I'll steal your bloody map first."

He chuckled. "Fine." After a moment, he asked, "Are you hungry?"

She shrugged. "A little, I guess."

"I'll be right back, then," he said, leaning down to kiss her forehead before leaving.

Only a moment after he left, Dumbledore walked in. "Good evening, Miss Evans," he said in his soft, calm voice. "Feeling better?"

"Hello, Professor. I'm feeling much better, thanks."

He sat in the chair James had recently vacated. "Now, Miss Evans, under the circumstances, I'm going to overlook you running off, and after hours at that. You are alright, and that's what matters. However, Mr. Black told me there were Death Eaters in the forest."

"Yes, sir, there were." She set about telling him what had happened, from her running off to being caught to James rescuing her.

"He also told me that Severus Snape was among them." He peered at her with those blue eyes that looked at you and into you and through you all at once. Nice trick, she thought. I should learn that.

She knew he'd see right through any lie he told her too, but she had to try. Sev had helped her, and she couldn't sell him out for that. "He's mistaken, sir. Sev wasn't there."

He nodded like her expected the answer. "I see. One more question, then, before I leave. That Death Eaters could make it into school grounds is most disconcerting. Have you any idea how they did it? Or what they were planning?"

She shook her head. "They wouldn't tell me. And I don't know their reason for coming here, but once they found me, they wanted to use me to get to others in the castle."

He nodded kindly, a knowing look on his face. "Thank you, Miss Evans. I'll leave you now."

A few minutes passed before James came back with a plate that was heaped with food. He set it on the bed next to her. "Eat what you want," he told her, taking a cookie for himself.

She laughed. "That's a lot of food."

"Well, I was hungry, too," he explained.

"You're always hungry!"

"I know," he said, and they both laughed.

She sat up. "Thank you for coming after me, James," she said softly.

He smiled at her. "You're welcome, Lils. I do have one question, though. They were going to use you as bait. For who?"

She looked down, suddenly fascinated with the bedcovers. "You," she said softly.

"Oh," was all he could say.

After a silent heartbeat, she went on. "The idea of them getting to you scared me more than whatever they were going to do to me."

"You—_you_—were afraid for me?" He was bewildered. "Why?"

She looked back up at him suddenly, tears shinning in her eyes. "Because I love you, James." She said softly.

He blinked a few times, flat-out dumbstruck. "You love me?" he repeated. And before she could reply "yes, you idiot," he let out a yell, looping his arms around her waist and lifting her out of the little hospital bed. The food tray hit the ground with a great clatter. James spun Lily around and around, whooping and laughing. She wrapped her arms around his neck, laughing with him.

It was all enough noise to draw Madam Pomfry out of her office. "Really," she cried. "I must insist you put the poor girl down! She needs to rest!"

James didn't even look at her. "But she loves me!" he yelled. "It took years, but she loves me!"

The young medi-witch had to turn to hide her smile, shaking her head and going back to her office, but the two teenagers weren't paying her any attention anyway.

James did listen to her, scooping Lily up and setting her back on the bed. He didn't let her go, though, his arms around her waist and his forehead resting on hers.

"I love you, Lily," he whispered.

She smiled. It felt goofy on her face, but she couldn't get rid of it. "And I love you, James." Now that she finally said the words, she didn't want to stop. I love him, I love him, I love him. She managed to stop her smile long enough to kiss him.

And he kissed her back, but it wasn't the same world-consuming, desperate way that it had been before—Merlin, was that only a day ago? He was soft and sweet and she understood what it said—he had waited years for her, and he had been prepared to wait longer. That thought made the back of her eyes sting with tears.

James mistook her emotion. "Lils," he said softly, "its okay. You're safe now."

She just nodded. "Hold me," she said. It was a request, but she knew he wouldn't say no.

That was the first night she fell asleep in his arms.

Sun lit hospital wing as Lily's fellow Gryffindor seventh years entered to visit. When they saw James and Lily, still asleep and holding each other, Marlene groaned.

"Ah, hell," she said. "Alice, I think you won."

**So I'm sure there are more typos in this chapter than any others. I've read this over and over again so many times trying to write it that I can't correct it anymore because I have the words memorized. Thanks for bearing with it.**

**There shall be at least one more chapter, if I can get it out of my head and into words. Loves, all. Wildfire**


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